Bulajić finished high school in Sarajevo, and graduated as a cinematographer in Rome. He began his directing career with the short films Kamen i more (1959) and Brod lutalica (1953). In 1959, he made his first feature film, Train Without a Timetable (Vlak bez voznog reda), which won several awards. Afterwards he turned to high budget war films - Kozara (1963), The Battle of the River Neretva (Bitka na Neretvi, 1969). His film The Battle of the River Neretva was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Foreign Film. His other important films include The Day That Shook the World (Sarajevski atentat, 1975), Titovi memoari (documentary, 1980), Visoki napon (1981), Donator (1989). His films won many international awards (in Moscow, New Delhi, Venice...) and, on several occasions, was a jury member at international film festivals in Moscow and Cannes.